Posted by Sean Chisham on January 19, 2003 at 12:02:52:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Military Band Question posted by Dean on January 18, 2003 at 22:55:04:
I believe the Air Force Academy in Colorado is also an E6 band.
Everything Dean said is correct. Ya gotta wait for a spot to open cause most people stay for 20+ years once they get the job. Unless something unexpected happens, Pershing's Own won't have an opening for about 3-4 years. After that, it is very possible that we will not have a free spot open for 10-15 years. We just happen to have a very young tuba section in both our bands except for SGM Morgan who will age out in a few years.
The intensity of the audition is very similiar to smaller regional orchestra auditions. You get a mix of excellent and not so excellent. Most auditions for tuba we have at least 3 or 4 people who are qualified enough to rate as "acceptable", which means they are good enough to hire for Pershing's Own. Then the audition panel picks the best candidate and offers that person a job. Any other "acceptable" auditionees are alternates in case that person can't pass all the military standards to be in our band.
If you are not sure if you are dedicating enough time to practicing and developing as a musician to make a premier band then you are probably right. It is no cakewalk to get in. As an example, we just hired two new tubists last year. One was a finalist for the Louisville Symphony job, I believe that is correct, and freelances around New York and the other guy was a college professor in Texas.
The resumes of many of the members of premier bands are very impressive. I was doing a funeral a couple of days ago and someone asked the guy drum majoring how long he had been in and what he did before joining the Ceremonial Band. He said he was bass trombonist for a regional orchestra in the Carolinas and had spent a year as interim bass trombonist with the LA Philharmonic among other things. Went to a concert to hear the NY Phil while our band was in NY for a military ceremony and after the concert caught Phil Smith out on the street heading to his car. He mentioned that the NY Phil uses trumpeters from the Marine Band often. We have several members who play extra with the National Symphony and othee Kennedy Center productions.
The overall talent pool in premier bands is very high. Not every member is as strong of a player as every other member, but that is how most musical organizations are.